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Up-and-down Kentucky still geared towards March

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts during the game against the Florida Gators at Rupp Arena.(Photo: Mark Zerof, USA TODAY Sports)

Story Highlights

John Calipari says Kentucky is as good as any team in the country

"Every game we play is to prepare us for March," he said

Unlike veteran-laden teams like Florida, the Wildcats know they have a small window to come together

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky basketball team sounds surprisingly optimistic considering it missed a huge opportunity to bolster its NCAA Tournament résumé on Saturday night against second-ranked Florida. Coach John Calipari is leading the charge, choosing to focus on the first 30 minutes of that game, at which point the Wildcats led by seven.

"That's as good as we've played all year," said Calipari, who admits his team still must "shore up" its end-game execution after the Gators scored on their final 13 possessions to win. "It showed me our goals do not need to change at all, and I told the team that. What that game showed me: We're as good as anybody in the country. We can play with anybody."

One goal likely is out the window, however, as Florida appears to be closing in on the Southeastern Conference regular-season title. That doesn't faze Calipari.

"I've never been big on conference championships," he said. "Every game we play is to prepare us for March."

Tuesday's trip to Mississippi, then, will be telling. How will the 16th-ranked Cats (19-6, 9-3 SEC) bounce back on the road? The Rebels (16-9, 9-3) have struggled lately, losing two in a row and four of six, but all those losses were away from Tad Smith Coliseum. Ole Miss is 5-0 at home in conference play and has star Marshall Henderson, who "at any time can make five straight shots," as Calipari noted. "Can you keep your head about you if he does?"

Too often in big games this season, Kentucky hasn't had the answer to that question, especially not against the Gators. And yet, the team remains upbeat. Assistant coach John Robic said the staff showed the team film of the final 11 minutes from the Florida game on Sunday and "dissected" what went wrong.

"We know the adjustments that we have to make and the players really, really understand now," Robic said. "So it was a very, very positive day for our players and our program. That's the most positive I've seen Cal and our staff after a defeat in a long time. We learned a lot as a team. I think we grew up as a team."

Backup point guard Jarrod Polson, one of two seniors on a team starting five freshmen, realizes the clock is ticking on the Cats putting all the pieces together. There are six regular-season games and a conference tournament between UK and an NCAA Tournament it was once favored to win.

But Polson feels "excitement more than fear" as March approaches, because "at the end of the day we know we're one of the top teams in the country. It doesn't matter about the rankings or anything. We can play with anybody. Maybe we haven't had a good record versus ranked teams, but at the end of the day we feel like we've been in those games and we've been close with them.

"We continue to get better and we think our ceiling might be a little bit higher than those teams. So we'll see."

Freshman shooting guard Aaron Harrison said the crunch-time play of Florida's veterans — the Gators start four seniors — gave UK's young team a blueprint for how to finish games. And the sting of a near miss might've done more good than a victory.

"We learned a lot from that game and we talked (Sunday) about how, if we would've won that game, we probably wouldn't have learned as much as we should have," he said. "It just helps us with motivation, and it just taught us a lot of things that we need to know about winning down the stretch."

While Florida has had years to develop its late-game poise, the Cats have only what's left of this one season. Several of the seven McDonald's All Americans on the roster are expected — per usual at Kentucky — to bolt for the NBA. It's a much smaller window for growth. Too small?

"We all knew that coming to Kentucky," Harrison said. "Basketball isn't supposed to be fair."

His twin, point guard Andrew Harrison, offered a frank and poignant assessment of the challenge facing Calipari's kiddie Cats after Saturday's game. He said fans "don't realize how much hard work it is to put together a team that had never played with each other before," and dismissed the notion that UK has selfish players while admitting that many of them are "trying to get a job."

On Monday, Aaron Harrison discussed the challenge of balancing individual auditions for the NBA and the team concept required for a championship run.

"I think that's the biggest question for all of us," he said. "We all, all our lives, have just been worrying about ourselves. When you put that group of people all together, it's really hard. Coach said it's impossible, really. So, I mean, we're just trying to do the impossible and see where it goes. We're really getting better at it.

"We just got a few minor things to get together, and I think we'll do just fine."

That's the optimist's view. The good news: Despite their struggles, the Cats still seem to have plenty of those.

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Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari talks with a referee during a break in play against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas defeated Kentucky, 87-85, in overtime.
Beth Hall, USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari gives instructions to his team during the game against the Tennessee Volunteers in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky Wildcats defeated Tennessee, 74-66.
Mark Zerof, USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts to a play during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas defeated Kentucky, 87-85, in overtime.
Beth Hall, USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari talks with guard Aaron Harrison (2) during the game against the Belmont Bruins in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Belmont, 93-80.
Mark Zerof, USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari coaches his players during the game against the East Michigan Eagles in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated East Michigan, 81-63.
Mark Zerof, USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari coaches a player from the sidelines during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas defeated Kentucky, 73-60.
Beth Hall, USA TODAY Sports

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Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts to guard Doron Lamb (20) during the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers in the semifinals of the south region of the 2012 NCAA men's basketball tournament.
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Memphis Tigers head coach John Calipari reacts during the second half against the Missouri Tigers during the west regional semifinals of the 2009 NCAA men's basketball tournament.
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Memphis Tigers head coach John Calipari yells instructions to his team against the Cal State Northridge Matadors during the first round of the 2009 NCAA men's basketball tournament.
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Memphis's Derrick Rose is helped back on the court by Memphis head coach John Calipari in the second half as the Memphis Tigers defeated Texas 85-67 during the NCAA South regional finals, March 30, 2008.
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Memphis Tigers head coach John Calipari congratulates senior guard Jeremy Hunt as Hunt comes out of a game against the Houston Cougars in the final minutes, Feb. 25, 2007.
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Philadelphia 76ers' assistant coach John Calipari talks to Allen Iverson during the second quarter Saturday night, Nov. 20, 1999. Calipari took over running the team after head coach Larry Brown was ejected from the game against the New Jersey Nets.
BILL KOSTROUN, Associated Press